The Asasabonsam
by v-mason
Summary: A back-story to Breaking Dawn that reveals Edward’s previous love in the Denali clan and the reasons why he wanted Bella to not relinquish her humanity... Please Read and Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

_The Denali's are coming_…the thought rattled my mind

"There's nothing to fear, Bella. The Denali pose no danger to you. Long before Carlisle had sworn off feeding on humans, they had. He learned much of his self-control from them you know."

"I'm more worried about the past than being eaten, Alice. What worries me are the beautiful female faces that will be emerging from Edward's closet."

Alice laughed at the statement that broke from my lips. "When will you finally start realizing just how much, how deeply Edward loves you? Even if he did love one of the Denali's in the past, you're all he dreams of for the future."

Alice's' words had calmed the initial pangs of jealousy erupting from my being but they also stirred new feelings of uneasiness. _Even if he loved one of the Denali's in the past…_the words echoed in my head. Great, an attractive female vampire was coming our way, one who may have had an attraction to my beloved decades before I was even born. How could I defend against that?

"They're here" Alice chimed, as her eyes quickly darted to the door of her luxurious bedroom.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. It sent a jolt of anticipation down my spine. The Denali's had finally arrived, and their presence heralded an unmistakable truth that something was coming. Alice grabbed my hand and together we dashed out her room into the hallway. At an instant, Edward was at my side, grasping my hand. Together we walked to the edge of the staircase. Esme had already reached the door and was letting three of them into the foyer. As I gazed down at the three figures, all dazzlingly beautiful as usual, I sighed. _Couldn't there just be one ugly vampire for a change!_

The other Cullen's had already made it to the room and were awaiting the final entries in the foyer. Reaching the final step of the staircase, I gazed into the black night outside the Cullen's doorway. Six more pairs of eyes greeted me from the alluring darkness, as Edward and I stepped into the foyer. There were nine of them in all, each as beautiful as the next, with the same fiery topaz eyes as those that I had grown to love in the Cullen's. I continued to peer into the doorway as a blazingly handsome young man who couldn't be a day over 20 with a chiseled face and graceful body glided into the foyer. I looked on in awe.

"Think you made the right choice for a vampire husband" Edward breathed into my ear as his infamous crooked grin enveloped his stunning face.

"Shut up!" I laughed as I whispered back, shaking my head.

Just then,_ she _emerged from the midnight shade, a true goddess on earth. Her features were indescribably delicate, yet strong, and she carried with her a presence that could captivate any room. Immediately she carried not just the gaze of Edward, but also that of all the Cullen males as she entered the vast foyer. There was something about her presence… so hypnotic, so radiant…it left a trail of longing. It was easy to see why; her beautiful black hair spiraled down around her perfectly sculpted face to just above shoulder length. Then there was her exotic caramel skin that seemed to sparkle like diamonds even without the need for sunshine. Along with her perfect figure, she could easily give Rosalie a run for her money. I chuckled to myself quietly with a quick glimpse at Rosalie's face as she entered. _Was that a tinge of insecurity on her perfect face?_

But more than that, it was her astonishing presence, her being rather than her beauty that had drawn all the attention to her as she entered. My gaze trailed after her and I continued to ponder whether it was possible to be half-divine, half vampire. And yet, there was something I felt about her aura that I couldn't quite understand…

The final four members of the Denali clan entered soon after the goddess made her way over to Esme. "Well, you're home is as lovely as ever Esme" her sweet voice chimed.

They began to chat quietly, but my mind was instantly perusing the room at the nine new beautiful entities within the Cullen's foyer to pay too much attention to their words. The round of greetings and introductions started in a blur…Tanya, Bernardo, Cynthia, Damien, Karmen, Gabriel, Elizabeth, Laticia, and Helene.

"This is Bella, the newest addition to our family" Carlisle stated. His voice snapped me out of my trance as I struggled to plaster a smile onto my face. "Shall we make our way into the living room," Carlisle then suggested.

Suddenly, the goddess appeared before Edward and I.

"It's been a long time Edward…" her soothing voice finally pierced the haze of amazement I was in. In an instant I felt a pang of jealousy rise in my brow. Was this the one whom Alice had talked about, that had stirred Edward's heart years—perhaps almost a century—before I had?

"And, it's nice to meet you, Bella" she chimed. I was too dumbstruck and wrapped up in my own thoughts to reply before she turned and joined the others.

The Denali's made their way into the bright open space of the living room, and took their places like great works of art amidst the furniture. The Cullen's followed. All this beauty in one place is blinding, I thought, it should be a crime. Just then, the remembrance that I would hopefully soon follow in their glorious beauty, and not feel as much like an outsider for reasons other than being the only human, filled me with hope.

"I see your numbers have grown since we last met, Tanya" Carlisle stated as we all took our seats.

The reunion chat began as I once again began to slip into a trance undermining my self worth in this kind of setting. Only occasional chuckles from Edward drew my attention away and back to reality, only to slip again into self-reflection. I don't know how much time had passed before the voice of the goddess cut into my self-critique and had me out of the haze of my mind.

"We should get down to business. I fear we have interrupted some very important planning and happy events," she said with a half grin, looking dead at me with a knowing that was beyond all understanding. "I suppose congratulations are an order, Edward, although I never took you for the type to marry—let alone that you should be marrying a human."

In an instant, the eyes of every member of the Denali clan were on Edward and I as we snuggled close together on the Cullen's couch. _How on earth could she know that!_ I thought as I gazed awkwardly back at her enthralling topaz eyes. I mean the human part was understandable, with my scent and all, but the wedding! There was not the slightest hint of it within the Cullen residence except in Alice's room, which was at my request of course. I couldn't stand the constant reminders of my soon to be happy doom. It couldn't even be the ring, which was missing from my finger temporarily and lay within the confines of Alice's room.

"Thank you, Karmen" was Edward's simple reply as he grinned at the goddess, whose name I had now learned… Karmen.

"Certainly" spoke Tanya, whose gaze quickly averted from my astonished expression to Carlisle. "I'm afraid we have grave news…"


	2. Chapter 2

I decided to let your brilliant minds fill in here…think of the most terrible possible events that would lead to this kind of meeting….then read on if you please…juicy stuff to follow!


	3. Chapter 3

As Edward and I sped toward my house in the early morning hours, I couldn't help but reflect upon the events that had just occurred. So many questions raced through my mind as I stared blankly out the window. Despite the looming danger that threatened us once again, my mind could not settle on anything but questions about the strange visitors we had just received. There was so much history between the Denali's and the Cullen's, so much I didn't know about Edward's past with them.

"What's on your mind, love" the graceful words spilled from Edwards's icy lips as he eyed me warily.

"I was just wondering about the Denali's, that's all" I questioned quietly, as my eyes slowly met his. "I was wondering if you could tell me about them, and their history."

"There's far too much of that for one nights talk, but I could try to give you the cliff's notes version" was Edward's reply.

"Tanya is the oldest and the founder of the Denali clan, having been turned into a vampire sometime in the 1500's. Her mate is Bernando, whom she created fifty years later. Then there's also Cynthia who turned in 1605 and Damien who changed in 1610. They were all around back when Carlilse first came to the New World. Their clan grew though, with the addition of Karmen upon Carlisle's second visit. So, those five are basically considered the original Denali. The others—Gabriel, Elizabeth, Latricia, and Helene are the newest editions… I believe they were nomads that chose to become part of the Denali's after they learned their ways."

I paused, and hesitated to get out the real question that was nagging at my mind. "And which one of them one was the one… that you loved?"

For the briefest moment, I caught his eyes flash in pain. "Ahh, you mean Karmen…"

Immediately I feared his answer. Of course it had to be the goddess. I guess it should have made sense to me…Edward had always been something of a deity in my mind. The vampire god and goddess, the perfect couple. He must have read the concern on my face because before I knew it his icy hands stroked my jaw line and lifted my face to his to meet his gaze.

"There's nothing there Bella, between us, not anymore…in fact there never was on her part. Besides I love only you. There is _nothing_ but _you_."

I gazed deeply into his eyes and instantly knew the truth behind them. His love for me was unquestionable so my insecurity faded quickly. Still, I was curious to know and very skeptical to believe that Karmen or anyone for that matter could resist Edward's charms.

"I believe you, and you know I love you too, always. But, if you don't mind me asking, what drew you to her—other than her obvious beauty and grace. What's... her story?" I managed to choke out reluctantly.

His demeanor turned thoughtful. "You know, in many ways, she reminds me of you…"

I scoffed at the remark. "Me, similar to Karmen?" In what possible way could I be anything even akin to the goddess? He had to be kidding me…

"Her's was a sad history, and it had started a century before mine" was Edwards opening.

As he spoke, I felt myself drifting off into his words, into another time.

"Karmen was born in 1804, the daughter of a slave and a Southern plantation owner, a union all too common yet taboo at the time. Her's was not a happy upbringing as you can imagine, having been born into slavery. Of course, she never knew her father, and sadly her mother died when she was seven, leaving her to be raised by a makeshift surrogate family. She lived and worked as the housemaid of another plantation owner. She managed to survive, though, in oppressive servitude for twenty-one years before the night that claimed her humanity."

"The son of the plantation owner had his eyes on Karmen from the beginning, as soon as her more womanly attributes started forming. He waited though, patiently, for years, until the opportunity arose." Edward's hand clenched the steering wheel and his jaw tightened as he let out the remainder of her story.

"One night, he caught her by surprise and tried to claim her virtue… she fought back, injured him, and immediately fled. Soon after, a mob formed, ready to hang her for the act she committed out of self-defense. They tracked her down, and she fled into the nearby woods."

"Fear consumed her, unsure of what fate awaited her. Then another appeared in her midst. His name was Darius, a vampire, of course—her creator….he had apparently been watching her for some time too, looking for the opportunity to take her as his mate. He left her with a choice… to come with him and become like him, to roam her days with a lust for human blood, or instead to die. He would leave her to the mob, and not intervene."

I gasped quietly, not able to imagine the sheer intensity of the situation she was under.

"So, she had a choice… and _chose_ to become a vampire..." I couldn't believe the revelation as it was revealed to me. Karmen and I were similar, in that _choice_ had ruled our commitment, and yet, for her was that really to be called a choice?

"Yes, but she made that choice under duress, Bella, under the fear that her life would be taken before it had truly began. She's regretted that choice ever since she uttered the words that made it."

_She regretted it,_ I mentally pondered astonished. An acute awareness began to dawn in my mind, all of those previous discussions with Edward about delaying my own transformation until after the danger had passed, until I had nothing to fear. To make the choice free from duress…

"It didn't take her long after the newborn phase to truly realize what she had become. A nightwalker, a vampire, one of the Asasabonsam—folkloric vampires of legend her surrogate family had taught her about in her youth. With that knowledge in her possession, she desperately longed for death, longed to go back to that day and let the mob kill her. For a time though, she stayed with Darius, but soon escaped him in search of a new quest."

"A new quest?" I echoed, slightly shaking my head in disbelief at this tragic tale.

"Karmen sought any and all ways to die…I can't even begin to fathom some of the things she tried, including trying to provoke the Volturi."

"She tried to provoke the Volturi too?"

"Where do you think I got the idea from?"

I gasped in shock by the statement. A cold chill ran down my spine as I recalled the incident that had nearly been the instrument of Edward's demise.

"It wasn't until she meet the others—the original Denali of the time Tanya and her mate Bernardo, Cynthia, and Damien, that she was finally able to come to terms with her existence. She never truly accepted it, but she began to at least comprehend that there were others who could show her how to live with her self-hatred."

"For years she lived with them, learning their ways, although it was never truly too hard for her. Karmen, much like Carlisle, had a knack for taming her bloodlust for humans. In fact, I think it was one of the ways she tried to take her life…through starvation."

"She was the final addition to the five original Denali's that Carlisle met and later that all we Cullen's came to know."

He laughed quietly, "In fact, before he met Esme, Carslile had a crush on her too. Pretty much all of us Cullen men had a thing for her at some time or another. "

Why did that not surprise me? Suddenly the moment in the hallway when all Cullen male eyes were very keenly on Karmen made sense.

"I can't speak for the others, but two things caught my attention about her when we first met. The first was the intense pain, yet strength she radiated. It just permeated any atmosphere then and it still lingers now. It's simply captivating…"

_That intense astonishing presence I felt in her company was pain?_ I wondered. It all suddenly made more sense though, that something I couldn't quite understand about her when I first gazed upon her.

"The other," Edward continued, "was the fact that I couldn't read her thoughts, just like you. She was the first person I had ever encountered whose thoughts were not openly available for me to view, and that intrigued me to no end."

Another similarity. A sudden pang of guilt came to me as I wondered whether Edward and Karmen were meant to be together.

"As the years passed, from her, like no other of the Denali's did I learn and master my self control, and receive a better understanding of my own feelings about what I had become. It's hard not to get attached—infatuated really, under those circumstances…

And you see that's what drew me to her, made me love her in a way. Her pain, her wanting desperately to end her own life, her hatred of herself for what she had _willingly_ but_ unwittingly_ become. I found I related to her feelings completely in those days… but that all changed of course, when I met you."

I blushed at the end of his response. "So nothing came of it… your love for her?" I asked sheepishly.

"Karmen's resolve to never love became entrenched her life long before I ever came to know her. It wasn't so much the life she'd known, or who I was or the times… she'd seen enough acts of human love and compassion between people of different backgrounds, especially during her travels, to see that anything could work. It was more her unending desire for **_oblivion _**that consumed her then, and possibly consumes her still."

"Karmen_ still _wants to die?" I asked quizzically, astounded by the depth of this vampire goddesses pain.

"Perhaps, but I can't read into her mind just like yours, remember. I'm only guessing by her seemingly continued reluctance to accept anyone into her life" he conjectured as a small chuckle erupted from his throat.

"Is that why were you chucking to yourself so much in the beginning?" I asked, half fearing the answer.

"Well, reading Gabriel's thoughts was interesting…the way he feels about Karmen now is the way that I once did. It's amusing, because it's pretty obvious the feelings are all one-sided, just as before…"

My mind raced with thought as the truth began to sink in. My Edward was once infatuated with her, but the feelings were _unrequited_? Then a new question emerged. "How did she know we were going to be married soon?"

"Karmen has the gift of intuition. It's kind of like a hybrid cross between Alices' and my powers. She doesn't see any visions or hear anyone's thoughts, but she can read a room in microseconds and know the atmosphere…the things that are happening. It's kind of a very keen awareness that perhaps she developed out of need given her past…" his voice quivered with pain at the last statement.

"I guess in some ways Karmen gave me my first taste of you. She taught me to appreciate beauty, strength, and emotions like love…all of which you exude."

A new feeling of respect arose within me as Edward finished telling me Karmen's story. I had honestly never considered that a vampire might _hate_ him- or herself for reasons other than relying on humans for food; Karmen hated herself for just _being._ My mind cleared and unexpectedly I felt sympathy for this tortured goddess. All that beauty and eternal life, but at what cost? And yet I knew that my life would be different. The choice I was making was out of an eternal love for Edward. Not duress, not fear. But still, a nagging question remained. Would I feel hatred for myself after I changed? For being, or for leaving the life I once knew behind? My mind continued to clear as I sat in Edward's car.

It was within this new clarity that a scene from earlier in the evening entered my brain. Suddenly, I recalled Karmen had not gazed at Edward or I too much during our late night meeting, but rather a strawberry blonde vamp in the Cullen's living room couldn't take her eyes off of Edward.

I abruptly blurted out, "What about that other one, the blonde one who couldn't take her eyes off you." My cheeks flushed with embarrassment at the abrupt statement.

Edward's startled expression gave way to his trademark smile as he took in my words.

"Cynthia" was Edward's simple reply.

His eyes turned and looked playfully into my eyes. "Cynthia is my ……Mike Newton. And it's a whole other story we're not going to get into right now."

I instantly understood the analogy but recalling the way she was lustfully eyeing him the whole time, I had to know more. "Why not!" I exclaimed.

His eyes peered past me out the window. I swiftly turned and saw that we were parked outside of my house. Charlie's cruiser was parked in its usual place.

"Please hurry and pack, we've got to get a move on," Edward stated. He reached over and gently pressed his cold lips against mine, sending a thrill down my spine. When the kiss ended, I gave him a 'this isn't over yet look' and smiled.

With that, I rushed from the silver Volvo and into the uncertain night, unsure what the _breaking dawn_ would bring.


End file.
